"A major Northern Fleet exercise will start Wednesday, involving intercontinental ballistic missile launches, along with preparations for aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov´s voyage across the Atlantic which will take few months," Ivanov said.

The minister said that preparations for joint Russian-Chinese maneuvers would begin August 18. The exercises are in three stages. During the first stage (August 18-19), Russian and Chinese Chiefs of General Staffs will meet in Vladivostok to discuss security in the Far East. During the second stage (August 20-22) the defense ministers of the two countries will meet in China to finally approve a training program for the exercise. During the third stage (August 23-25), training exercises will be carried out in the Yellow Sea.

Up to 1,800 Russian and 8,000 Chinese military are expected to take part in the maneuvers.

Russia will deploy 11 aircraft (including the SU-24 and SU-27 fighters, IL-76 and IL-78 transport planes, and TU-95 and TU-22 long-range bombers), a group of ships from the Pacific Fleet, and a company of marines.

In late August, CIS firing practice will take place in Ashuluka, Astrakhan Region (near the Caspian Sea).

A group consisting of Russian special forces and airborne forces are scheduled to start preparations for joint Russian-Uzbek training on an Uzbek mountain range, Ivanov said.[l1]